


Don't Forget (To Remember Me)

by Jace_Diaz_Of_Hell



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Multi, and i hate stephen king for making the losers forget each other, book/movie mashup, my children deserve to be HAPPY
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-13 11:21:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13569540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jace_Diaz_Of_Hell/pseuds/Jace_Diaz_Of_Hell
Summary: The Loser's club has been through too much to forget each other. As a result, things are different.





	Don't Forget (To Remember Me)

The Loser's Club stick together after beating Pennywise in the sewers.

 

There's a promise that binds them. A part of them will always be clasped in a circle, palms bleeding, feeling that surge of power through them.

 

Nothing can break them apart after that. The Losers become each other's family, better than their own family ever could have been.

 

Beverly's aunt moves to Derry, because Beverly will not be dragged away from them. She cries the whole way to Portland; she says nothing to her Aunt except niceties that are expected of her. Beverly's aunt watches one day as Beverly answers a phone call, and watches as her face lights up.

 

“Ben!” She exclaims, slipping into another room and closing the door. She talks for three hours, only hanging up when her aunt calls that dinner is ready.

 

She comes out of the room red-eyed and sniffling, but with the first smile Beverly's aunt has seen from her yet.

 

Two weeks later, Beverly helps her aunt load a small U-haul.

 

Their house is a small green house just down the street from Ben's. Beverly doesn't love her aunt at first- she's been too scarred for that. But, over the course of a year it changes. When Beverly's Aunt takes her shopping at a nearby mall and lets one of the makeup technicians do Beverly's makeup, the girl's face lights up.

 

That night, Beverly hugs her aunt so tight it knocks the air out of her lungs. And Beverly's aunt hugs her back, wondering at how glad she is this girl has come into her life.

* * *

 

 

Bill's house is still cold. He's understood now that it was never Georgie's ghost. Georgie would only ever want them to be happy, to support each other in the wake of his death. Georgie wouldn't want Bill to be sitting alone in his room in the middle of the night, crying into his pillow because his mother won't even look at him.

 

He understands, too, that it's not his fault. That's been told to him multiple times- by a sleepy, bruised up Richie; a matter-of-fact Stan, binoculars in his hands, scanning the sky for birds; by Ben as he sits at Ben's dinner table because his mother drank too much wine and is asleep on the couch; by Beverly, her eyes snapping with a hidden fire; by Eddie, holding his no-longer needed inhaler loosely and strictly out of habit as they sit in the Barrens. By Mike, as he helps hold down a lamb, making sure it gets sheared safely and comfortably.

 

It doesn't make it any easier to deal with the freezing cold, the loss of his parents love.

 

When it's too much to deal with, he tiptoes down to the phone in the kitchen and calls up Stan. Stan, even though he swears to god he needs a decent amount of sleep, will invite him over and talk to him quietly for hours- about birds, about Bill's stories, about anything he wants or needs to.

 

Sometimes he'll go to Ben's, crawl in through the window and sit with Ben at his desk as Ben works on blueprints, things he'd like to build one day. When Arlene comes in to wake Ben up she'll see Bill curled up on the floor under the spare comforter and sigh softly, getting out more eggs.

 

Some nights he stays home, and Richie calls him up. Richie will come in through his window maybe twenty minutes after that, sometimes with a bruised up face, sometimes with red-rimmed eyes because he couldn't stand to hear his parents scream at each other anymore.

 

“I don't know what's wrong with them.” Richie says sometimes, his glasses perched next to Bill's typewriter. “And I _know_ it's not my fault, but when they get yelling...” He pauses, and his shoulders slump with a broken sort of half-sob. “It's hard, Big Bill.”

 

Bill knows in the morning Richie will be up bright and early, cracking jokes and attempting to do some new Voice, and will not speak of this. That's okay.

 

He knows that they have to look out for each other, because no one will do it for them.

 

And amazingly, he's okay with that.

* * *

 

 

Dealing with the aftermath of It is hard on Stan.

 

He tries to explain it to Richie, to Beverly, but neither of them understand- how could they? The two of them have had to deal with offense, with  _wrongness_ , every day of their lives. They were too young the first time it happened. They can no longer remember the first shock of it, the  _disgust_ of the wrongness.

 

None of the Losers understand how deeply it affects him, but Mike can grasp the concepts of it. For Mike, the offense was the lambs being slaughtered. Hearing the screaming of them, knowing one day he would be expected to bring about that same fate.

 

At least, by his grandfather. His father never forces him to slaughter. For his father, who dies when Mike is fifteen, Mike should be just handling the crops portion of things or helping his mom with the chores.

 

But Mike at least understands the concepts of the wrongness. He'll be silent, holding Stan while Stan shakes, trying to push away the offense.

 

And one night, when Stan kisses him, and Mike kisses back, things get a little easier for Stan. He still holds the memory of It's  _offense_ , but he has Mike, and that is something right. 

* * *

 

Ben decides he wants to lose weight.

 

It's not because of the bullies, because most of the bullies of his past are dead and Henry Bowers is in an insane asylum, talking to the moon.

 

It's not because he wants to impress Beverly- he loves her, and she's already halfway in love with him, but it's not because of that.

 

He wants to do it for his own peace of mind- he knows there's really nothing wrong with being overweight. He wants to lose it to gain self-confidence, to love himself more, to help banish the memories of the cruelty other children put him through.

 

His mother doesn't want him to lose weight. She looks at her son and sees he is well-fed, and she feels like she's doing a good job. She thinks that him losing weight means a sign of her failure somewhere, something that doesn't make sense to anyone but her.

 

It's only one day when Ben's shirt rides up and she sees the old  _H_ scar on his stomach, and forces him to tell her what happened, that she relents.

 

She still makes sure he has enough to eat, but she doesn't see his weight loss as a sign of failure anymore. To her, and to the Losers who cheer him on at every step, its a sign of his strength.

* * *

 

Eddie slowly grows apart from his mother.

 

She still manipulates him, still tries to force him to stay home. She still concocts phantom illnesses and pumps him full of medicine. There are still days when Eddie has to use his inhaler and has panic attacks about germs and disease.

 

There's one thing she can't force him to do, and that's to stay away from his friends. He'll fight her tooth and nail over it, not relenting even when she uses her tears as weapons against him.

 

She doesn't approve of Stan and Mike, and there's one incident when he's grounded after he comes out to her. She slips a pamphlet for conversion therapy under his door; he opens the door and uses a lighter that Richie left behind to set it on fire in front of her.

 

After that he packs a bag and stays away for three days. He goes and lives with Mike, getting up at dawn every day and helping with the chores. He finds purity in the hard work, in letting himself know he has hidden depths of strength.

 

When he moves back in the house, his mother's homophobic comments subside for fear of having him disappear again. She scowls when he comes home one day, holding Richie's hand and blushing, but she doesn't say a word about their new romance, just snaps at Richie to  _wash his hands, I won't have my Eddie catching anything from that dirt on your nails._

 

She tries to ignore their relationship, going so far as to pretty much force Eddie on a date with a girl named Myra. She's sweet, and sensitive, but at the end of it he tells her the truth and she responds with a casual smile and an “I know.”

 

It turns out that she herself isn't straight. They use each other as an escape when their parents try to break apart whichever relationship- Eddie and Richie, Myra and her latest girlfriend.

 

When Stan introduces Myra to a girl named Patricia Blum, Eddie can practically see the hearts in her eyes.

 

When Myra begs him to go on a double date with her, Patricia, and Richie, Eddie beams.

 

He hopes Patricia and Myra last. Myra's a sweet girl, and Patricia cares deeply about things. According to Stan, who goes to synagogue with her, Patricia's been through a lot. They both deserve some happiness.

* * *

 

The losers eventually move out of Derry. Ben and Beverly aren't a couple yet, only roommates and friends; they go to New York together. She goes to college to become a fashion designer; he goes to be an architect.

 

Beverly gets picked up by one of the major companies quickly, pinned to be the Next Big Thing; Ben gets selected to apprentice with the biggest architecture firm in the state.

 

Beverly still meets Tom Rogan. But on the night they come back from the movies and he slaps her for smoking, there is fire in her eyes.

 

“Have a nice life, asshole.” She snarls, before climbing out of the car and heading to the nearest payphone, dialing her home number.

 

Ben comes and picks her up; Ben gets her an ice pack for her face. Ben holds her when she cries because she's angry, and sad, and remembering her father.

 

At the end of the night, she yanks him forwards by his shirt and plants her mouth on his. For six months they're dating, attached at the hip, until she shows up one day at work. Ben waves goodbye and she blows him a kiss, the small diamond on her finger winking in the sunlight.

 

One year later, Miss Beverly Hanscom has her first fashion show. Ben flies in from London and his work on the BBC communications tower, waiting backstage with an armful of roses.

* * *

 

 

Eddie and Richie move to California, where Eddie majors in Pre-Med. He wants to learn all about the human body and the _real_ diseases of it. Richie doesn't go to college. He participates in peace rallies, he gets a job interning at a radio station and eventually rises to be the Man of A Thousand Voices.

 

He comes home and cooks at nighttime and helps Eddie study, and occasionally they make out on the couch like the two lovestruck teens they once were.

 

Their house is filled with love, and any problems or arguments are later discussed calmly.

 

In their small apartment, dancing to slow love songs in the living room in the middle of the night, Eddie and Richie heal from the trauma of their past.

 

They're engaged for years, getting married as soon as it's legalized.

 

* * *

 

 

Bill goes to college to be an author. The other losers are amused by his phone calls and letters, pages full of the idiocy of his professors.

 

_Why can't they let a story just be a story? And even if there were symbolism behind my stories, it's not what my professors think it is. It's not the inevitability of death, or capitalism or whatever the fuck this guy pulls out of his empty brain._

 

_We all know my horror stories are about remembering what happened to us. Remembering Georgie._

 

His friends all get a trashy magazine mailed to them, one that has Bill Denbrough's first published story.

 

About a week later they're all informed he's dropped out of college. A few months after that, they each get a signed copy of his first novel in hardback.

 

Then, working on the set of his first book-turned-movie, he meets Audra Phillips. She's an addict, hooked on so many different drugs and alcohol, but when she's sober she's the most amazing woman Bill's ever met, with a fire that reminds him a bit of Beverly.

 

Over a few months Audra sobers up, going to AA and Narcotic's Anonymous meetings. It's hard on her, but Bill is there for her every step of the way. His friends hit it off with Audra immediately- she becomes a close friend of Beverly's, and is a fierce sponsor for Beverly Hanscom's brand.

 

Their wedding is small, with paparazzi waiting to attack outside, but for Bill it's one of the best days of his life.

* * *

 

 

Mike and Stan are the only ones to stay in Derry. They live in a somewhat big house, and own Mike's family's farmland.

 

Mike becomes a librarian and the local historian, passionate about his town. He goes to school just out of town, and so does Stan. Stan, with his steadfast nature and perfectionist attitude, goes into accounting. When all the banks move into town, he hits it off extremely well, becoming reasonably wealthy in a short amount of time.

 

Mike supports Stan's love of birds and drags him out of the office when it's clear he's becoming stressed. In return, Stan forces all of his associates to go to the history events and library events Mike puts on.

 

They keep chickens on the farm, and there are no slaughters.

 

And one day, they're married in the front yard of their farm. Their friends are all present. They throw corn kernels instead of rice, and once Beverly lets the chickens loose to see the chicks, the corn is promptly gobbled up.

 

* * *

 

 

When It wakes up again, Stan is there with Mike. He sees the strain Mike is under, the doubts and worries he has. He's there to comfort him at night, and force him to sleep before he can do too much damage to himself.

 

He goes over each case with Mike, watching carefully for any details that will definitely confirm or deny Pennywise's continued existence.

 

After Adrian Mellon is murdered, Mike and Stan stay attached at the hip, wrapped around each other tight as can be, drawing comfort from each other's presence. Both knew Adrian Mellon- not very well, but they went to the same bar. Adrian was sweet, if a bit childish.

 

And after the ninth murder, Stan was the one who held Mike's hand, getting his attention.

 

“It's time to call them.” He says. His voice is wavering; there is fear and revulsion in his eyes. Mike pulls Stan into a hug, looking down at him. He knows that this will be hard on Stan, harder than it was as a child, to face the disgust and wrongness of It. Stan holds onto him fiercely for a long time, and once the embrace is over he steps away.

 

“I think I'm going to take a bath.” He says.

 

Mike looks at him, studies him carefully.

 

“Want me to join you?” He asks him, _knowing_ Stan will need comfort.

 

There's a long hesitation. Unreadable emotions war in Stan's eyes, but after a moment Mike's husband nods.

 

“Yes. I could really use the company.”

 

Mike and Stan bathe together, talking quietly- of the farm and what to plant. Of Stan's accounting, of the next history event Mike wants to plan. Of everything but the threat that's about to come their way.

 

After the bath, Stan makes cocoa. Not with hot chocolate mix, but with cocoa powder, milk, and sugar. He pours out two mugs and sits next to Mike on the sofa, curling into him as Mike talks on the phone. Calling the losers home one by one.

 

* * *

 

 

They return in twos except for Bill; Ben and Beverly come driving into town one day, Beverly tense and holding Ben's hand. Eddie and Richie come into town that night, Richie dropping his contacts from his eyes because of the phantom smoke that stings them.

 

Bill returns from London, leaving Audra behind to continue filming. Bill tells her it's the anniversary of Georgie's death, and he needs some time alone.

 

She accepts the excuse grudgingly and tells him to say hi to Beverly for her.

 

* * *

 

 

With seven Losers instead of six, things are different right from the start. Stan is in the library with Mike when Henry Bowers appears; he knocks Henry out and calls the police before Mike can be hurt too badly.

 

Immediately after, he joins up with the other Losers.

 

Eddie still breaks his arm, falling down into the tunnels. He faced It with a broken arm before; he'll face It this way again now.

 

Bill still almost gets lost in the deadlights. He can feel himself hurtling towards that orange mass of lights and knows if he is trapped there, nothing will bring him back.

Richie, like before, tries to come to his rescue. Richie almost loses his grasp on It's tongue.

 

And Eddie jams the aspirator down It's throat, his childhood belief in medicine soaring so high, so sure everything will be okay that he doesn't realize what's about to happen.

 

Stan realizes, Stan _yanks_ Eddie back as hard as he can, and Eddie gets away unharmed, his fingers slipping out of It's throat just before It's teeth snap together.

 

When It disappears into the darkness and Richie charges after It, livid with the threat to his husband, Bill follows. It killed Georgie all those years ago; Bill will kill It and know peace at last.

 

Things are quiet for a moment. Beverly's eyes are focused on the bodies high above her. She knows they're gone, their minds absorbed into the deadlights, but it's still such a gruesome thing, to see these mutilated children floating in some dreadful Peter Pan mockery, never growing up, never leaving.

 

And it's Stan, who knew the truth before, who gets Ben's attention.

 

“It was pregnant.” He announces. He grabs Ben's hand in one and Mike's hand with his other. He chooses these two because he knows Ben is steady and will be able to recover, and he chooses Mike because _he_ needs Mike there, because the _wrongness_ of It is threatening to overwhelm him once more.

 

Beverly and Eddie cling to each other in the cave, trying not to look at the children and failing to look anywhere else.

 

Between Stan, Ben, and Mike, they crush every last egg. On the way back they run into Bill and Richie, and the five go back to join the other two Losers.

 

They want so badly to collapse together in a heap, to close their eyes and be secure in the knowledge that they're still alive, but they can feel Derry breaking above them. They know they need to escape the sewers before it's too late for them.

 

It takes a lot of navigating. No one speaks, everyone clings to everyone else's shirt to stay together.

 

When they're out of the sewers, the first thing they do is take Eddie to have his arm set. Then they all go back to Mike's house. They're still in an uneasy silence, fueled by adrenaline and terror.

 

Everyone showers off the sewer muck and the acidic remains of It's blood and the blood of It's miscarried children. They go to the living room, clinging to each other, until the terror ebbs away, replaced by exhaustion and relief.

 

It is dead. It's over. They no longer have to live in constant awareness, constant fear, though they know they will for a few years more.

 

But the Losers have beat the Devil, and they've stuck together.

 

Some day there will be children in their futures. Mike and Stan will adopt a boy, naming him Will in honor of his late grandfather. Richie and Eddie will have a little girl they name Myra, after her loving psuedo-aunt in Boston.

 

Ben and Beverly will probably have several kids. And Bill will name his first son Georgie.

 

But that will all come later.

 

For now, they're lying tangled together on the floor of the Uris-Hanlon's living room. They're together. And that's enough.

 


End file.
